So, my friend and I just pitched our first five gallon batch of homebrew on Sunday, and I have a question about bottling.

We're going to do a secondary ferment in five different one gallon jugs to test out different styles of spicing (we're doing a pumpkin ale), and I was wondering if it would work to bottle them in said jugs using corks purchased from the hardware store. The obvious pros I'm considering is the considerable amount of money saved on bottles, but what are the cons?

Cons are the bottles not being able to hold the pressure and blowing up. Another con is cork not being able to hold the pressure and blowing off the bottle. Finally, the cork may not seal properly resulting in flat and possibly containated beer.

Go to a bar or beer store and get some empties. Make sure they are not twist off. They should be free or really cheap.

My bet is the plastic cap won't hold. You can take one for the team and try it. I would love to see it work.

I'm very cautious about the jugs turning into bottle bombs. I would prefer for my tiny studio apartment not to get splattered with beer and broken glass. Is there any reason they wouldn't be able to take the same pressure as a 12 oz bottle?